Kentucky’s hemp crop research enters 3rd year

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has authorized planting of nearly 4,500 acres of hemp for pilot projects this year, compared with about 900 acres of hemp production last year, and 33 acres in 2014, the first year of pilot projects. Since 2015, the number of university-led research projects has more than doubled, with the scope of research expanding beyond production research into hemp utilization. The KDA is offering multi-year partnerships with processors in order to develop meaningful data on processing and marketing.